0399153764 Only 1 copy left. Clean, unmarked copy. Hardcover, with dust jacket- In great shape! I can send expedited rate if you chose; otherwise it will promptly be sent via ...media rate. Got any questions? Email me; I'm happy to help! We recommend selecting Expedited Shipping to get your book as fast as possible.Read moreShow Less

2006-10-24 Hardcover 1st Edition 1st Printing New in New jacket A few small stains on top page edges, otherwise perfect....100% Satisfaction Guaranteed! ...Ready To Ship With ...Tracking From Florida Within 1 Business Day! ...All Items Packaged With Cardboard/Bubble Wrap.Read moreShow Less

New York, NY 2006 Hard cover New in new dust jacket. Glued binding. Paper over boards. With dust jacket. 291 p. Audience: General/trade. A client from a decades-old case reaches ...out to Boston PI Spenser-but can he rescue troubled April Kyle once more? Longtime Spenser fans will remember that once upon a time, though not so long ago, there was a girl named April Kyle-a beautiful teenage runaway who turned to prostitution to escape her terrible family life.Read moreShow Less

Overview

Editorial Reviews

From Barnes & Noble

Cynical Good Samaritan Spenser is back in the rescue business, protecting April Kyle from the brutes trying to squeeze her out of her ritzy Back Bay call-girl business. His gallantry is only slightly dented by the discovery that April and apparently everyone else in Massachusetts is a full-time liar. The 34th slot in this reader-pleasing series will light up your nights with its crisp dialogue and deep piles of dirty laundry.

Publishers Weekly

April Kyle, the damsel in distress that Spenser rescued in two earlier books, Ceremony (1982) and Taming a Sea Horse (1986), again turns to the iconic Boston PI for help in the 34th entry in Parker's popular series. Cynical yet romantic, Spenser easily handles the immediate threat of some men trying to muscle in on the high-class Boston whorehouse April is running. Unfortunately, that isn't the real problem, and Spenser without much surprise finds that April, the thugs and everyone else involved is lying to him. Instead of walking away, Spenser continues to probe, following trails that lead to New York, a con artist, mob connections and other complications. This is vintage Parker, with Spenser exchanging witty dialogue with the faithful Hawk, sexy dialogue with his beloved Susan and smart-alecky dialogue with cops and villains. The old pros can make it look easy, and that goes for both the author and his hero as they deliver the goods smoothly and with inimitable style. (Oct.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Lucky April, delivered from streetwalking to a better clientele in Ceremony and from a nasty lover in Taming a Sea-Horse. Now she's a madam protecting her turf, and she needs Spenser's help again. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Spenser, who seems to alternate these days between meaty cases and time-passers, follows School Days (2005) with a thin tale of trouble among high-class prostitutes whose only distinction is bringing back a familiar face from the past. Twenty-five years ago, Spenser rescued runaway teen April Kyle by the unorthodox means of placing her with upscale Manhattan madam Patricia Utley (Ceremony, 1982). When April ran off from her second home, Spenser was on hand to save her again (Taming a Sea-Horse, 1986). Now April, who looks great despite all the miles she's got on her, wants his help fending off the bad guys trying to horn in on the Back Bay brothel she runs. It's the work of a moment for Spenser and Hawk to send the hired bullyboys on their way, of course, but Ollie DeMars, the Southie crew chief who hired them, won't say who paid him to lean on April. Spenser's hunch is that it's Lionel Farnsworth, an ex-client of April's who's already done time for real-estate fraud. But something doesn't add up. April's business just isn't generating enough trade to be worth the trouble of stealing. Is somebody lying to Spenser? Yes. Just about everybody, as he realizes over and over and over until the curtain finally comes down with a bang. Spenser's detective chops are less in evidence than his messiah complex. Even the dialogue, always Parker's specialty, sounds suspiciously like Elmore Leonard.

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Parker is Parker

Typical Parker dialogue and plot but a fast and interesting read. Happily, Hawks vocabulary improvement has enabled him to minimize use of the "f" word, a problem I've found in some other Spenser novels.

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Anonymous

Posted August 24, 2009

I Also Recommend:

Good book

Over all is good, but plot is little boring.Like other books by this author.

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1cowboy

Posted August 4, 2009

Ho Hum

My first Spenser novel (used to watch Robert Urich TV series). Not terribly "gripping" as blurb writers like to say. Really rather boring. Could have wrapped it up in half as many pages. Short choppy dialog makes it a "page turner" (another blurbism) only because it's short and choppy. Characters have no depth. Made me want to take a shower when I finished. Okay, so the world isn't perfect. But this? Not sure I want to take on the Jessie Stone I've got waiting in the wings. Got the feelng Parker was tired and really struggling to make something of this.

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Erix_the_Red

Posted March 9, 2009

Not Up To Spenser Quality

Hundred Dollar Baby" lacks the impact of the hard right hook I have came to enjoy in the early Spenser novels. Spenser has become old and predictable, nowhere near the Spenser of "Godwulf Manuscript." Let him take his well earned retirement with Susan. The plot was as predictable as a drive on an urban highway at rush hour. The culprit was known from the moment the crime was discovered. The recurring characters are stale as month old bread or this cliche.

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If You Love Spenser....

This is one of Robert Parker's best Spenser novels. I own them all, from the Godwulf Manuscript through to his most current, and this is one I've reread several times. <BR/><BR/>April Kyle was introduced in Ceremony, as a teenage runaway. In Million Dollar Baby, she returns, fully grown up and looking for Spenser's help. Or is she? In reality, she wants Spenser to help her without really delving into what's actually going on. But she should know better; Spenser never quits, even when he's fired.<BR/><BR/>The ending is shocking, but appropriate.

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Anonymous

Posted September 5, 2008

Spenser and his baby

I have to confess, I didn't read the book. I listened to the audio version of Hundred Dollar Baby. I've not experienced any of Parker's books before so I was meeting Spenser and company for the first time. Parker knows his characters inside and out. I enjoyed the interplay between Spenser and Hawk and learning about Spenser's 'softer side' in relation to Susan and Pearl. The mystery, I felt, was a bit predictable as it was clear who the guilty party was long before the end. I also found the conversations between Susan and Spenser to be a bit repetitive. She does go on and on about her degree and their conversations all sound alike. All in all, it was an enjoyable read and I would pick up another Parker novel and jump into Spenser's world again

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Anonymous

Posted May 4, 2008

twist &more twist

first off a GREAT read for us die hards, especially if you are familiar with April Kyle. For first time readers this will have you running back to the book store for the back issues. As always, Spenser toes the line of the law with his own sense of morality, and if Hawk's along for the ride you know it isn't going to be pretty 'for long'! The ultimate wise ass, smart mouth detective pissing the wrong guys off and taking you along for the ride!

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Anonymous

Posted May 29, 2007

If only Susan went on an extended vacation

I love the Spencer series. Having said that, I sure am getting sick up and fed with the cutsie banter between Spencer and Susan. Enough already! This is a classic series, don't ruin it!

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Anonymous

Posted December 12, 2006

Not up to Spencer standards

Having read every Spencer and Jesse Stone novel, this Parker effort was way below the norm. Lots of characters, poorly developed. Even Susan was disjointed, lacked focus and was difficult to follow. Phsyco babble in lieu of the usual insightful speculation. Please, no more 'I went to Harvard'. Maybe time for no more Susan. Page after page I waited for it to take shape and flow smoothly. Alas, I waited in vain. Even the normally crisp and pleasing banter with Hawk was prolonged and often boring. What was the point with Tony and Ty Bop and Cholo and others but to keep their names alive.The whole thing felt like a disinterested effort to meet a publishing committment. We need better from our favorite sleuth.

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Anonymous

Posted November 16, 2006

WHAT!!!!!!

Come on Robert, you can do better than this!

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Anonymous

Posted November 16, 2006

ANOTHER TOP FLIGHT STORY AND A FIVE STAR READING

Yes, he's a Tony Award winner for his Broadway role in Glengarry Glen Ross, an Emmy nominee for his television appearances and a star of feature films. Nonetheless, for this listener Joe Mantegna is the voice of Robert Parker's iconic hero, Boston PI Spenser. This actor has brought excitement and thrills to such Spenser escapades as Back Story, Bad Business, Cold Service, Hugger Potshot, and Widow's Walk. He does it again with Hundred-Dollar Baby. There's little that ruffles Spenser but the reappearance of April Kyle does. She was once a teenage runaway (Ceremony, 1982) who had the beauty and nerve to turn to prostitution because she believed she had no other choice. She learned her trade well and now is back in Boston running a high priced bordello. Problem is some men are trying to muscle in on her territory and she needs Spenser's help. Well, April may be beautiful and clever, but she's not too candid as Spenser soon discovers. She had maintained that she had no idea who was trying to scuttle her operation but Spenser and his trusty sidekick, Hawk, find that April isn't the unknowing victim that she claims to be. Another top flight story in this ever popular series. - Gail Cooke

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Anonymous

Posted December 1, 2006

Not enough of Hawk

I have read all of the Spenser series and loved them all, including this one. My only objection was that Hawk wasn't a bigger part of the story. I love the character of Hawk, and the funny dialogue between him and Spenser is always my favorite. I missed that in this book. My hope is that thre will many, many more books with the Spenser character in the near future and that Hawk will play a bigger part. Thank you, Robert Parker.

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Anonymous

Posted November 19, 2006

Hard to put down this mystery novel but . . .

This book was very good in Robert B. Parker style. I had trouble putting it down. But . . . it just didn't have the punch of a top notch Spenser novel.

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a reviewer

Boston private investigator Spenser makes no moral judgments of how people live so when hooker April Kyle (see CEREMONY and TAMING A SEA HORSE) needs help, he provides it. He goes even further hooking (pun intended) her up with a high class madam. April is in trouble again so she turns to Spenser for help. Someone wants to take over her business and so has hired Ollie DeMars to harass and frighten her into paying for protection.----------- Spenser learns that the man behind the muscle is Lionel Farnsworth who teamed up with April to scare her mentor out of money used to open up a chain of bordellos. April claims she broke off with Lionel when she caught him having sex with one of her girls and tells Spenser to back off. Soon after confronting his client, Spenser finds out that someone murdered Ollie, who once shared a low security cell with Lionel. Spenser feels strongly that April is hiding something from him he needs to find out what that is because he believes she is in a lot more trouble than she admits.----------------- Spenser is at his best in HUNDRED DOLLAR BABY as he tries to help a female friend who rejects his assistance as she spirals downward. One of the hero¿s endearing traits is he makes friends with politically incorrect individuals who in many cases work outside the law. Robert B. Parker refreshes his long running series as Spenser struggles with the object of his protection insisting he butt out.------------------ Harriet Klausner

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